Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Ekalavya - Arjuna - Drona - Bheeshma

Eventhough Arjuna and Dronacharya are famous for many things, many people have bad opinion on them for their behavior towards Ekalavya.

Dronacharya promised Arjuna that he would make him as the best archer in the world. Once Ekalavya came to Dronacharya and expressed his interest in learning archery. Drona rejected Ekalavya to teach archery, since he was not a Kshatriya.

Later on, Ekalavya made a deity of Drona, and worshiped him. He practiced archery assuming Drona as his guru and learned many things in archery.

Once Pandavas visited forest. During that time, one dog disturbed Ekalavya a lot by barking repeatedly. Then, Ekalavya used seven arrows in the dog's mouth in such a way that, it does not die and it cannot bark. It went to the Pandava's camp. After seeing this and the way it is used, they wondered who had the capacity of using this. Then, they came to know about Ekalavya. They reported this to Drona, and Drona asked Ekalavya his thumb, so that he cannot practice archery anymore.

This caused many people to have bad opinion on Arjuna and Drona.

Dharma is very complicated, especially in the areas like this. To understand this, one must completely forget our present caste system, and understand the real varnasrama dharma according to the scriptures.

Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vysya and Sudra are according to the nature and the type of the activities performed by one. They are never based on one's birth. If the father is a brahmin, then son won't become a Brahmin automatically. For example, Drona is a Brahmin, but, his son Aswathama is not a Brahmin.

Kshatriyas are supposed to learn warfare to protect people and to rule the kingdom. They are not supposed to use for any other purpose. Whereas, Ekalavya used archery on dogs to show his skill, which was a complete misuse of archery. If he had continued to misuse archery, then, many people would have suffered because of that. To stop the misuse, Drona took his thumb.

Even if he was a proper Kshatriya and learned archery, how can one say that, he is going to beat Arjuna just by showing few skills in archery. The skills that one shows in any show, can be done by any advanced archer. One does not need to be at the level of Arjuna to show those.

Eventhough skill is an important part of the archery, but, in the entire Mahabharath, the weapons that one possessed played major role than the skill. The only reason why Krishna worried about Karna was the powerful weapons that Karna possessed, mainly Shakthi given by Indra and Nagasthram. In both the cases, Krishna directly/indirectly saved Arjuna. Without those weapons, Karna lost even to Bheema many times. Bheema did not kill Karna, because, Arjuna had taken vow to kill Karna.

If Arjuna wanted, he could have used Pasupathastram or any other powerful astras that he had and killed the entire kaurava army in one minute. But, those powerful astras are not supposed to use that way, and he did not use those. [He used Pasupathastram for one specific purpose (to kill Saindhava), and withdrew it immediately after killing him.]

Another thing is, Arjuna is a savyasachi, i.e., he can use both the hands in archery. Even if Arjuna gives his right thumb, still, he can use his left hand and compete with anybody.

Ekalavya does not have any powerful weapons. He knows only sastras and not Astras. In any war, he cannot compete with anyone who has a powerful weapon. Also, Drona had minimum role in the Astras secured by Arjuna. Arjuna got many of his Astras, after he finished his education at Drona.

If one is given boons which they are not qualified to receive, then they may misuse it. Whenever Vishnu kills any demon, first thing that he says to Brahma is, do not give this type of boons to anyone. In the same way, if Ekalavya is left like that, he may create more havoc. So, to stop that, Drona took his thumb.

There is no question of Arjuna feeling jealous about Ekalavya. In fact, Arjuna was never a best archer in the world at that time. Drona could not make him as the greatest archer. Apart from Krishna, Bheeshma is the one who is a better archer than Arjuna. Arjuna could defeat everyone else at some time or other, but, he could never defeat Bheeshma. During the war, Pandavas had to beg him to leave his Bow and Arrows, so that, they could win against him. Except that incident, Bheeshma never lost in any war.

After Bheeshma left this world, probably, one can claim that, Arjuna is the greatest archer in the world after Krishna.

If we include all the warriors and not just archery, then Bheema is no less warrior than Arjuna. He is the one who killed maximum people in the war. He alone killed all the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra. He got multiple chances to kill even Karna. But, he did not kill him, because he wanted Arjuna to kill him.

@ Srinivas very nice article but at some point I don't agree with you....Even in Mahabharata episode it had been shown that Karna defeted Yudhisthhira and Beema multiple times and let them go and cause of this incident Duryodhna got disappointed with Karna. Karna could kill Yudhisthira and Bheema at his vows but he could not as he made promise to Kunti that he would only kill Arjuna. As per my knowledge about mythology and what I heard from my grand parents Karna was best archer than Arjuna. :)

@ Srinivas very nice article but at some point I don't agree with you....Even in Mahabharata episode it had been shown that Karna defeted Yudhisthhira and Beema multiple times and let them go and cause of this incident Duryodhna got disappointed with Karna. Karna could kill Yudhisthira and Bheema at his vows but he could not as he made promise to Kunti that he would only kill Arjuna. As per my knowledge about mythology and what I heard from my grand parents Karna was best archer than Arjuna. :)

@ Srinivas and I do not agree on yours drama point either....To take thumb of Eklavya by Drona was just a strategy and nothing else...Drona was supposed to built an army for Hastinapur and Eklavya was a native of Magadh and because of this only he closed a chapter of Eklavya for good. Arjuna undoubtedly was a good archer but Karna was not less than Arjuna and he proved this so many times. One incident at Mahabharata war when Karna almost defeated Yudhisthira and then suddenly he let him go(Abhaidaan). Like there are so many incidents happened when karna shown his actual power. Hats off that worriers..:)

you are a stupid who simply worship arjuna.Actually Karna is the best warrior in Mahabharatha(never consider krishna,since he is the lord and he can do anything).You said Bheema defeat Karna many times.Bheema is just only a wrestler,not an accurate archer.So considering strength Bheema is powerful than Karna.But in the war,Karna had many chances to kill Bheema but due to the promise given by him to Kunti(Karna promised kunti that he never kill any pandavas except Arjuna),Karna leave Bheema,yudhisthira,nakula and sahadeva alive.Also Balarama the teacher of bheema and duryodana agreed the skill of duryodana which is better than Bheema.Karna had the chance to kill Arjuna in the war.Karna breaked the weapon of Arjuna many times in the war.But only because of the curse of Parasurama(Parasurama cursed Karna that Karna will forgot all his mantras and techniques at the desired time) and curse of Brahmin(Karna will killed when he's unarmed) and with the help of Krishna,Arjuna killed Karna.Karna shows his excellence and legacy many times far better than Arjuna in many part of Mahabharatha(in Draupadi's marriage occasion,in archery show by pandavas and kauravas..etc).In all these cases Karna is avoided and insulted only because he belonged to a lower cast.I agreed Bheesma is a super warrior.But he can't beat Karna,when Karna have immortal Kavachakundala(ornaments).So according to power of skill and techniques in archery,this is the following order(except Krishna);1.Karna2.Bheesma3.Ekalavya(if he's not betrayed by Drona on his childhood)4.Drona5.Arjuna

Everybody who participated in Kurukshetra war had been defeated/saved. Therefore the war showed that it was not possible to win that war on the basis of personal charisma. Sometimes Arjuna cornered Karna, sometimes Karna looked better than Arjun. I

f Karna had been the best archer, he could have brought the war to end. However he couldn't. He could not save his own children from death. They were killed in front of him. He couldn't have Duryadhona's brothers from death. Bheema killed many of them in front of him. He promised not to kill other panadavas, but no one restricted Karna from saving other from them. Karna was helpless in front of Ghatatkacha. He was forced to use divine weapons. Arjuna was always helped by Krishna. Therefore, it is difficult to find out the best.

(SOURCE-TRANSLATION OF ORIGINAL MAHABHARAT OF VYAS BY KESARI MOHAN GANGULY & WHICH IS THE ONLY PRECISE TRANSLATION AVAILABLE ON PUBLIC DOMAIN):

Incident 1:Karna fled rom battlefield from Arjuna(Virata Yudh):

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04060.htm

Incident 2:Karna defeated by Gandharwa chitrasena:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03239.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03240.htm

Incident 3:Arjuna defeat Ghandarwas & rescued Duryodhan & kurus:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03243.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03244.htm

Incident 4:Karna defeated & freightened by Abhimanyu in chakruvyuhu:

Hearing these words, Karna, afflicted with the shafts of Arjuna's son, once more said unto Drona, 'Exceedingly afflicted with the shafts of Abhimanyu, I am staying in battle, only because (as a warrior) I should stay here. Indeed, the arrows of this south of great energy are exceedingly fierce. Terrible as they are and possessed of the energy of fire, these arrows are weakening my heart.'

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07045.htm

What Karna's own friend Ashwathama & kripacharya think of karna:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04049.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04050.htm

what Lord Krishna think of karna's bravery:

Krishna said(To Arjuna):.I swear by Truth to thee, O friend, that my limbs are burning at the thought that while the son of Subhadra was thus advancing, consuming the hostile army with his shafts, even on that occasion the wicked-souled Karna was engaged in acts of hostility to that hero,Unable, O Partha, to stay in that battle before Abhimanyu's face, mangled with the shafts of Subhadra's son, deprived of consciousness, and bathed in blood, Karna drew deep breaths, inflamed with rage. At last, afflicted with arrows, he was obliged to turn his back upon the field.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08073.htm

& Finally karna himself accepting Arjuna's supeority:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08079.htm

FINAL KARNA ARJUNA BATTLE(DAY 17 OF MAHABHARATA):

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08089.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08090.htm

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08091.htm

ACCORDING TO MY ANALYSIS OF THIS TRANSLATION IN THE FINAL BATTLE OF MAHABHARATA,ARJUNA & KARNA ASSAULTED EACH OTHER 35 TIMES WITH NUMEROUS, THOUSANDS & LAKHS OF ARROWS ………8 TIMES THEY NULLIFIED EACH OTHER ARROWS ,12 TIMES BOTH KARNA & ARJUNA PIERCED EACH OTHER BUT THE REMAINING 15 TIMES ARJUNA PIERCED KARNA IN EVERY PART OF HIS BODY & KARNA’S LIMBS,YOKE,STANDARD,STEEDS,CHARIOT WERE RIPPED APART & KARNA WAS LEFT MANGLED BATHED IN BLOOD & KARNA HAD NO ANSWER FOR ARJUNA’S ARROWS!!!

Karna cant even protect Jayadratha from being slained by Arjuna!

& Whats wrong when Karna was deprived of his armour..as his kavach kundal would have made invincible in battle & battle would have turned 1 sided!Even shakuni or blind duryodhan had dat kavach nobody could have defeated them..so basically having a kavach will defiently make u invincible in battle but wont show ur archery skills!!

Hi Akshadh Very perfectly assembled. And apt justification about even Shakuni being unslayable with the Kavach and Kundal.However to be fair, I also want to point out the following where Krishna describes Karna's powers.http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07177.htm But I don't understand one thing though.. why is Indra's Sakthi weapon considered more powerful than Arjuna's Pasupathastra ? Isn't Lord Shiva's astra more powerful than Indra's ? If Karna could use Indra's dart, Arjuna could have used Pasupathastra .. can somebody explain for me please ?

Hi AkshadhVery perfectly assembled. And apt justification about even Shakuni being unslayable with the Kavach and Kundal.However to be fair, I also want to point out the following where Krishna describes Karna's powers.http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07177.htmBut I don't understand one thing though.. why is Indra's Sakthi weapon considered more powerful than Arjuna's Pasupathastra ? Isn't Lord Shiva's astra more powerful than Indra's ? If Karna could use Indra's dart, Arjuna could have used Pasupathastra .. can somebody explain for me please ?

Shakti had a boon from Indra that it would never fail.Pashupatastra too had a boon from Mahadev that it would never fail.Ofcourse Pashupatastra is much more powerful and dangerous than Shakti.The fact is Karna relied on this Shakti to kill Arjun as he could have not killed him by any other way.Since Shakti had a boon,so Lord Krishna had to respect Indra's boon too.

Boons and curses have a great role to play in Mahabharat.Every boon and curse has been respected by Krishna.Same applies to Shakti and same applies to Kavach kundal.Pashupatastra, a weapon capable of destroying the whole world could have destroyed Kavach Kundal too,but for respecting the words of Surya Deva it was taken.

Shiva is much greater than Indra and Surya,there is no reason to think otherwise.

Please do not try to Justify what Drona did. Ekalavya did not hurt the Dog. He did not misuse his skill in archery. This is a case of jealousy and favoritism, plain and simple. Please do not try to complicate what is in it's essence a simple matter.

Eklavya's best performance is just against a dog.He did hurt the dog,its clearly written in Mahabharat.Eklavya's father was commander of Jarasandha's army.Eklavya was not capable of shooting from both hands like Arjun,lese he could have continued his archery every after getting his one thumb chopped off.Eklavya did steal the knowledge which Drona imparted to his disciples.While Drona used to teach his students,eklavya used to secretly watch and learn.

Karna is a better warrior than Arjuna. Karna is also a better wrestler than bheema bcoz he defeated Jarasandha without krishna's help with the ultimate wrestling move called bahukandaka. Karn proves his superiority by exeeding arjun's feets at Dron's Tournament. Karna was defeated by arjun in the virata war because he used the sammohanastra rendering karna unconscious. Karn rendered arjun unconscious at the 17th day of war shooting an ordinary astra at Arjun's chest. Also karna had better astras like vaijayanthi sakthi, brahmastra, vaishnavastra, bhargavastra, naagastra and PASUPATASTRA , yes he has pasupatastra, it is said in the mahabharath (ved vyas). arjuna had only two of them ie Brahmastra and Pasupathastra plus arrows like sammohana and aindrastra, he had no garudastra because if he had, why didn't he use it against the naagastra? now eklavya may be better than karna in archery but not in divine weapons. the only warriors I like in the pandava's side is Satyaki and Abhimanyu. Satyaki defeated bhishma pitamah but not karna

Karna is capable of defeating arjuna lord krishna consider Karna as equal to or superior to arjuna

I must, however, O son of Pandu, say that which is beneficial to thee. Do not. O mighty-armed one, disregard Karna, that ornament of battle! Karna is possessed of might. He is proud and accomplished in weapons. He is a maharatha. He is accomplished (in the ways of battle) and conversant with all modes of warfare. He is also well-acquainted with all that suits place and time. What need is there of saying much? Hear in brief, O son of Pandu! I regard the mighty car-warrior Karna as thy equal, or perhaps, thy superior! With the greatest care and resolution shouldst thou slay him in great battle. In energy he is equal to Agni. As regards speed, he is equal to the impetuosity of the wind. In wrath, he resembles the Destroyer himself. Endued with might, he resembles a lion in the formation of his body. He is eight ratnis in stature. His arms are large. His chest is broad. He is invincible. He is sensitive. He is a hero. He is, again, the foremost of heroes. He is exceedingly handsome. Possessed of every accomplishment of a warrior, he is a dispeller of the fears of friends. Engaged in the good of Dhritarashtra's son, he always hates the sons of Pandu. No one, not even the gods with Vasava at their head, can slay the son of Radha, save thee, as I think. Slay, therefore, the Suta's son today. No one possessed of flesh and blood, not even the gods fighting with great care, not all the warriors (of the three worlds) fighting together can vanquish that car-warrior."

Karna is disrespected for fighting Abhimanyu from behind, yes he cut subhadraputra's bow from behind but didn't hurt him. Arjuna on the other hand attacked Bhurisravas from behind and cut his hand which is against dharma.

Arjun suffered hell for boasting as the greatest dhanurdhari of his time but he is not. if he was, that will not be an adharma. So Arjuna is clearly surpassed by Karna.

The entire pandavas would have been single-handedly defeated by Ashwathaman by the narayana astra if it wasn't for krishna. Arjuna couldn't neutralise narayanastra. so Ashwathama is superior to arjuna also.

Arjuna couldn't defeat Bhishma in a fair fight so he had shikhandi infront of him. This was not because of Icha Mrityu because arjuna was not able to Defeat devavritha (I didn;t mean kill him so stop bragging that arjuna was unable to defeat bhishma because of ichamrithyu). Bhishma was superior to Arjun.

Arjuna fled from Karna's bhargavastra as he could not counter it. He didn't have garudasthra so he couldn't counter nagastra of Karna i.e why Govinda protected arjun by lowering his chariot. Arjuna cannot possibly counter the Shakthi (In mt mother tougue, Vaijayanthi Shakthi) so Chakradhari used Ghadotkacha. Arjuna also fainted after being shot on the chest on the 17th day but Karna didn't kill him, insted he used the time to lift the cartwheel. I've also heard Karna used the unstoppable vaishnavastra against arjun, since he couldn't counter it, Lord Govind himself received the astra. and the final point is Karna was slayed when he was unarmed and helpless. If arjun was so great, why didn't he kill him after he got the cartwheel out of mud so he can remember all the astras he learned from Lord Bhargavarama? So Karna is superior to Arjuna. Prove me otherwise?

" The Suta's son then, for slaying the son of Pandu, took up a terrible arrow blazing like fire. When that adored shaft was fixed on the bow-string, the earth, O king, trembled with her mountains and waters and forests. Violent winds began to blow, bearing hard pebbles. All the points of the compass became enveloped with dust. Wails of grief, O Bharata, arose among the gods in the welkin. Beholding that shaft aimed by the Suta's son, O sire, the Pandavas, with cheerless hearts, gave themselves up to great sorrow. That shaft of keen point and endued with the effulgence of Sakra's thunder, sped from Karna's arms, fell upon Dhananjaya's chest and penetrated it like a mighty snake penetrating an ant-hill. That grinder of foes, viz., the high-souled Vibhatsu, thus deeply pierced in that encounter, began to reel. His grasp became loosened, at which his bow Gandiva dropped from his hand. He trembled like the prince of mountains in an earthquake. Availing himself of that opportunity, the mighty car-warrior Vrisha, desirous of extricating his car-wheel that had been swallowed up by the earth, jumped down from his vehicle. Seizing the wheel with his two arms he endeavoured to drag it up, but though possessed of great strength, he failed in his efforts, as destiny would have it."

This shows Karna's nobility towards his enemies. He could have killed Arjun, but he instead tried to get the car-wheel out. Jai Karna!

Arjun defeated Bhishma in Viraat war and in Kurukshetra too on Day 2 and 3.

Now before you say Arjun used Sammohini astra in Viraat,i would like to clarify -

-Sammohiniastra was used on Day end.Kuru warriors had enough time to defeat Arjun but they all failed.

-Before using Sammohiniastra,Arjun had defeated Bhishma.

-Sammohiniastra is not banned in a war,it as a counter weapon too.

- Everyone had recognised Arjun in viraat war before they started fighting,from the gandiva's twang and his counch's sound.So don't give the lame excuse of ''Brihanalla" and Kaurvas being mild on an eunuch.Infact Bhishma ,Kripa and Drona had warned everyone that its Arjun.

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